Hotels in the museum area

• ACH Museum Square hotel located at 100 metres from the Museumsquare.
• Museum Hotel it's all in the name
• Hotel Gresham-Memphis at just a stone throw away from the Museumsquare.

Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum’s Van Gogh & Gauguin show, which closed on June 2, was an enormous success and attracted a total of 739,117 visitors. It is the highest number of visitors for a temporary exhibition at the museum since the major Van Gogh retrospective of 1990 and the number exceeded all expectations. Van Gogh & Gauguin was also presented at The Art Institute of Chicago last fall and 690,951 people saw the show there.

Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House is a museum with a story. It’s situated in the center of Amsterdam and holds the hiding place where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary during World War II. Anne Frank was a normal girl in exceptional circumstances. For more than two years she described the events of her daily life in hiding in her diary. The original version of the diary is on display as part of the Anne Frank House's permanent exhibition. The collection and temporary exhibitions focus on the wartime persecution of Jews, contemporary fascism, racism and anti-Semitism.

Hotels in this area

• Hotel Nadia behind the Royal Palace on the DAM Square (plein)
• Hotel Di-Ann at only 5 minutes walk from the Anne Frank House
• Hotel Die Port van Cleve behind the Royal Palace on the DAM Square (plein)

Rembrandt House
This house, which dates from 1606 and in which Rembrandt lived between 1639 and 1658, exhibits 250 of the 300 etchings Rembrandt created. Rembrandt was thirty-two when he moved into his charming house on Breestraat and he was at that point fully launched on a successful career. In 1658 however, Rembrandt was forced to leave the house and he was declared bankrupt. It might be interesting to know that the bankruptcy came about because the company who commissioned the famous "Night Watch" was dissatisfied with the painting, which eventually ruined his career!

Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art
The Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art offers by far the best collection of modern art in Amsterdam, with an emphasis on paintings. A number of works are permanently on view from the museum's renowned collection of paintings and sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, graphic design, applied art and design and new media. A number of frequently changing exhibitions is always on view as well.

Amsterdam Historical Museum
The museum gives an overview of the history of Amsterdam from the 13th century to the present. Archeological finds, models, silver and gold exhibits, glass, earthenware, porcelain, paintings and prints show how the city grew from a small settlement along the river Amstel into a modern cosmopolitan city. One of the most interesting exhibits is an eighteenth-century coach without wheels. According to council regulations - and to reduce the noise of wheels on the cobble streets - wealthy Amsterdammers had to travel by sleigh, even in summer.

Jewish Historical Museum
In 1987, this museum opened in the restored Ashkenazi Synagogue complex in the heart of what was once Amsterdam's thriving Jewish Quarter. It's home to the collection of paintings, decorations, and ceremonial objects confiscated during World War II and patiently restored in the postwar period. The museum focuses on Jewish identity, Jewish religion and culture, and Jewish history in the Netherlands. It presents the community in both good times and bad and provides insights into the Jewish way of life over the centuries. Leave time to appreciate the beauty and size of the buildings themselves, which include the oldest public synagogue in Europe.

NEMO
The NEMO Science and Technology Center is housed in a striking green building on Amsterdam’s Eastern Dock and faces the historic port of Amsterdam. The Italian architect Renzo Piano designed the building and it opened in 1997. NEMO literally means ‘no one.’ The name refers to the voyage of discovery between fantasy and reality. Nowadays, discoveries and changes occur so rapidly that it is difficult to understand and be up-to-date on everything. In NEMO, these modern developments are explained during a voyage of discovery. The roof terrace of the NEMO is accessible to visitors and non-visitors alike, and offers a breathtaking view of Amsterdam city.

Madame Tussaud’s
At Madame Tussaud’s Amsterdam you can meet famous Dutch and foreign personalities and celebrities. Walk up to renowned wax figures of famous politicians, singers and actors and admire technical special effects in the form of animatronics. Visit extraordinary scenes from Holland’s Golden Age and entertaining moments from the present day.

Hotels in this area

• Hotel Rho Amsterdam located at 50 metres from Dam Square
• Hotel De Roode Leeuw Amsterdam located at 50 metres from Dam Square

Netherlands Maritime Museum
Appropriately housed in a monumental 17th century rigging house of the Amsterdam Admiralty, the Maritime Museum (Scheepvaartmuseum) explains the history and techniques of navigation and overseas trade that were the driving force behind the Dutch Golden Age.

Hotels in this area

• HEM Hotel Prins Hendrik Amsterdam Located right in front of the central station.
• hotel Ibis Stopera Amsterdam 5 minutes walk from the Maritime Museum.

Royal Palace
At first sight, the Royal Palace on Dam Square doesn't look very royal or majestic at all, which is understandable because Jacob van Campen designed this building in the 17th century as the new city hall of Amsterdam. When King Louis Napoleon came to Amsterdam in 1808, he had the city hall turned into a royal palace. The large collection of Empire style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period. After Louis Napoleon left, the building remained a palace. Although the palace is still the official royal residence, the Royal Family lives in The Hague. However, Queen Beatrix does host official state receptions and ceremonies here.

Sex Museum
The Amsterdam Sex Museum houses an extensive international collection of historical erotic and pornographic art, literature and artefacts. The exhibits include mannequins arranged in titillating tableau, Greek temple devotional items, Japanese carved erotic ivories and antique and modern fetish wear.

There is a comprehensive selection of manuscripts and drawings ranging from the Karma Sutra to twentieth-century comics and a vast film and photographic library proffering every sexual predilection and preference.
An interactive section offers visitors privacy in one of several small padded booths, with a selection of films playing continuously whilst the display of contemporary paintings can be viewed from one of three appropriately shaped seven-foot long vibrating chairs.